Friday, November 02, 2007

Burn

As if Sunday weren't enough, tomorrow promises even more squeals: http://www.nyrr.org/races/pro/mens_trials/spectator_guide.asp. I'll be there, and I'll use the resulting high as fuel for my own run immediately following. Might be time to revisit my coveted GW Bridge...

Also on the trials, this page: http://www.nyrr.org/races/pro/mens_trials/glory/week_7/friday.asp. Some poignant words on running, including these ones:

The marathon is the insidious withering of the will as the body cannibalizes itself over time in an exchange of fitness for distance, until finally it reaches the point where each step is a victory. For athletes of the highest caliber, fitness is like a candle: It has to burn brightly, but not too quickly. The marathon is a long burn, and it's the rate that becomes key. Whose rhythm best matches race pace? Whose energy is being utilized most efficiently? That's what we mean by, "Whose day is it?" ... The marathon is a cruel game, as the miles rob you of your wits just when they are most required, when muscles revolt and the brain seeks oxygen now shunted to pistoning legs. These are the moments that challenge and inspire as the battle rages. ... There is purity in this process that transcends a world wed more than ever to fields of secular yields. The marathon is a contest unencumbered by modern contrivance. It won’t be determined by luck, a turn of the ball, or a referee's arbitrary call. Rather, it will be settled by trial in the crucible of all systems coming under fire. It has been this way since the beginning, since gravity's design of leg, lung, and limb. And though training methods have been refined and equipment and surfaces have improved, the outcome remains determined by men carrying no more than what they first brought into this world, whips of sinew and cudgels of bone.

Posted by princess kanomanom @ 7:58 AM